Eastern’s men’s basketball team ended its off season with a 78-48 win in an exhibition game against Olivet Nazarene.

The Panthers started out slow as the Tigers held a 9-7 lead five minutes into the game. Eastern would then go on a 6-0 run and never looked back.

Senior guard L.C. Doss led the charge in the first half, as he scored nine points on 4 of 4 shooting from the field. Doss would finish the game with a team-high 13 points.

Doss said he was glad the team got the win, but there are still many things the team needs to improve before the start of the season.

“Obviously, there are a lot of things we need to work on,” Doss said. “Just little things, we would play well (defensively) the whole possession then give up a (offensive) rebound.”

The score was 40-27 at the half.

They shot 55 percent in the first half; however, it was their defense that shut down Olivet Nazarene.

They held their opponents to 32 percent shooting for the game.

Eastern’s defense was active, getting its hands in passing lanes and forcing 19 turnovers. The Panthers also had a significant advantage in rebounds 43-30.

Head coach Mike Miller was encouraged by the team’s effort.

“I thought we played hard,” Miller said. “The strength of our team is going to have to be the depth and just constantly going at an opponent.”

The Panthers played 12 men and they all scored. Freshman forward Josh Piper led the reserves with nine points and a team-high six rebounds. Miller’s son, freshman guard Joey Miller, played well, scoring eight points and dishing out four assists to led the team. Eastern’s bench would outscore the Tiger’s bench 35-16.

Senior guard Jeremy Granger helped the Panthers extend the lead in the second half, scoring nine points on 3-5 shooting. Granger would finish the game with 13 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Miller said he was happy with the energy the team showed and with how the bench performed.

“We had a chance to see what different guys can do,” Miller said. “We kept trying to mix and get different combinations of guys out there.”

The Panthers official season begins Friday on the road against Indiana State. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Rob Mortell can be reached at 581-7942 or at rdmortell@eiu.edu.